Express bus to soon link Martin County, South Florida

Express bus service between Martin and Palm Beach counties will be available by Labor Day, Ann Perrotta, director of the Martin Metropolitan Planning Organization, said Friday.

Although an exact start date will not be announced until July, service is expected to begin in late August, Perrotta said.

"They need to make sure that the parking facilities are ready," she said.

The Florida Department of Transportation is setting up four park-and-ride lots, she said.

The north end of the route will be Halpatiokee Park at Interstate 95 and State Road 76 in Martin County.

Going south, the first stop will be at the West Jupiter Recreation Center on Indiantown Road, east of Central Boulevard in Jupiter, and the second will be at The Gardens mall, east of I-95 on PGA Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens.

The route will end at the Tri-Rail station in Mangonia Park, which gives riders easy access to Palm Beach County buses and Tri-Rail trains south to Miami.

A one-day, round-trip pass for the Express Bus will be $5, and will be good for same-day passage on PalmTran buses in Palm Beach County.

The first Express bus will leave Halpatiokee Park at 5:20 a.m., which will get it to the Tri-Rail station in Mangonia Park in time for the 6:25 a.m. southbound train. A second run will begin at the park at 6:20 a.m., in time to make the 7:36 a.m. train south, Perrotta said.

Coming back in the afternoon, Express buses will leave Mangonia Park at 5:20 and 6:20 p.m.

Each bus offers wireless Internet and seats 38 people. Another 12 to 15 people will be able to ride standing up using hand straps, Perrotta said.

About 3,000 people have registered with the South Florida Commuter Service to find a car pool between the two counties, so Perrotta expects the service to be successful.

"There's definitely an established demand," Perrotta said, and there is already talk of adding buses if they are needed.

In the meantime, the service will reduce greenhouse gases and the number of commuter miles driven in the two counties, she said, and fewer cars reduces the need for wider roads, parking garages and the like.

EXPRESS BUSES

Service will give riders easy access to Palm Beach County buses and Tri-Rail trains south to Miami.

Fare: $5 a day

Route: Between Martin County's Halpatiokee Park and Mangonia Park in Palm Beach County, with stops in Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens